The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, has again snubbed the request of the Nigerian House of Representatives to appear before the lawmakers today, December 20th 2022. This is coming just a few hours after a Federal High Court in Abuja squashed a motion for the Department of State Security (DSS) to arrest and detain the CBN governor.
Why it matters
Although the federal lawmakers are requesting Mr. Godwin Emefiele for the CBN’s latest policy on limiting cash withdrawals by individuals and corporate organisations in the country, and not on terrorist claims as instituted by the DSS and protesters, the integrity of the apex bank governor’s lies in the balance.
More details
The House initially scheduled to grill Godwin Emefiele over the CBN’s policy last Thursday but he failed to appear before the federal lawmakers. The Deputy Governor, Corporate Services, CBN, Edward Adamu, in a communication to the House, stated that Mr. Godwin Emefiele was amongst the entourage of the Nigerian President on an official visit to the United States.
- Mr. Edward Adamu also told the federal lawmakers today that the CBN governor was still on the trip even though Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari had returned.
- The Minority Leader, Ndudi Elumelu, pointed out that if Mr. Godwin Emefiele failed to appear before the House on Thursday, when the lawmakers are scheduled to go on Christmas and New Year break, their stance on the suspension of the policy would hold.
What you should know
The CBN recently announced a new policy mandating financial institutions in the country to limit cash withdrawals to N100,000 for individuals and N500,000 for corporate entities per week. The new policy, which would take effect nationwide on January 9, 2023, attracts a processing fee of 5 percent and 10 percent, respectively, for cash withdrawals above the stipulated limit.